Karina Jones is a real-life ranch wife in the Nebraska Sandhills and one of the most highly sought-after speakers in the cattle industry nationwide!
Rain makes corn and tough kids! Welcome to this Monday edition of Ranch Raised!
We have caught some beautiful spring moisture the last few days. Despite the cool, wet conditions there were still outdoor activities that went on, if you were tough enough to endure. I saw that kind of tough in kids and families this weekend at a cattle show. Kids were washing cattle in the rain. There was mud to get around. And there was shear perseverance that was on display. I know this was also true for those kids who were at junior high and high school rodeos battling the same conditions. I am sure there were a host of other farm and ranch kids who were also out in the elements doing chores, AIing cattle, and the things that had to be done around their place.
It reminded me of my college livestock judging days when we practiced judging Hereford bulls in blizzard conditions, in January, somewhere outside of Laramie, WY. Or when we spent cool, wet fall days at the Cedar Top Ranch putting together endless classes of replacement heifers. I remember our judging coach trying to give us a pep talk, even though we couldn’t feel our fingers and toes that we were “the tough ones” and all the sissies were home on that Saturday morning watching cartoons on the couch, eating Captain Crunch, in their underwear.
So cheers to all the kids that get outside and get it done, in rain, sleet, snow, or blazing hot conditions! You can ride with my crew anytime.
Karina ranches with her husband, Marty, and 4 children near Broken Bow, NE. She grew up in western NE, with roots also in southwest SD. The cattle industry and raising kids is her passion.
Watching the cattle industry go the path that it has gone, she could no longer sit quietly at home checking cows, fixing fence, and doing all the everyday tasks wondering when some else was going to make it all better. As she became more active and outspoken on industry issues, she was asked to join the R-CALF USA staff in September 2020 as the Checkoff Petition Campaign manager. That position transcended into her former role as full time Field Director for R-CALF USA.
You can hear her almost every Friday on Your Ag Network’s Hot Barn Report, where she deep dives into cattle industry issues and industry reforms. Listen to Ranch Raised on a Your Ag Network hometown station or www.youragnetwork.com where she talks about her daily life on the Jones Ranch.
Cattle producers are her people. She will meet you at the county fair, at the sale barn, or anywhere the dusty trail leads.
karina@youragnetwork.com or visit facebook.com/ranchraisedwithkarinajones
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